Autumn has technically arrived on the Costa Blanca, though you wouldn’t know it. The summer heat hasn’t packed its bags, and forecasts suggest it’s sticking around.
According to Spain’s weather service (Aemet), most days this season will still be warmer than usual.
The Valencian Community just lived through its hottest summer on record, with an average temperature of 25.5°C, about 2 degrees higher than normal. Nights were particularly sweaty: Alicante chalked up 102 “tropical nights” (minimums above 20°C), smashing its own record.
The sea isn’t cooling off either. The Mediterranean is sitting at 27°C, roughly 3 degrees above average. That might sound lovely for a dip, but it’s not all good news. Autumn on the Costa Blanca is usually the wettest season, and warm seas can supercharge rainfall.
That said, experts warn it’s not as simple as “warm sea equals floods.” Heavy downpours need the right mix of ingredients, like cold air clashing with warm, humid air near the surface. And even then, meteorologists can only predict those violent storms a few days in advance.
Autumn on the Costa Blanca: Rainfall in the region
What they can say is that rainfall in the region is becoming more erratic. Jorge Tamayo from Aemet explains that the yearly totals might look the same, but the rain is arriving in fewer, more extreme bursts.
This year has already followed the script. The big rains came in just two main bursts, one in March, and that late October storm. Some areas, like Castellón and inland Valencia, ended up with more rain than expected. Meanwhile, Alicante and the coast stayed dry.
The summer itself was practically bone-dry. Across the Valencian Community, rainfall was 7% below average, with almost all of it coming from two July storms. Alicante drew the short straw, recording less than 5 litres per square metre.
